Blogs

I was travelling back from Delhi when I saw a young man, also boarding for the same flight, who had an interesting looking trophy with him: I said hello to him, congratulated him because he had obviously won something, and asked what it was about. "This is the trophy that Karnataka won this year, for the best float in the Republic Day Parade," he replied. "We've won it a few times in the past, and if we win three years running, the rolling trophy will become ours." Having, rather uncharacteristically, missed watching the Republic Day Parade this year as I…

Bengaluru is seeing churn and activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Recently, I have come across a couple of mid-size and small companies seriously looking at options to merge. The world is changing rapidly and entrepreneurs want to seize the moment. M&A is seen as one option for the smaller companies to consolidate and address the challenges ahead. Some deals work and some do not succeed. Here is a quick first-cut of the framework that I have put together when looking at any investment/M&A planned; the PBRT framework. It is so named, because of the memory tag... PBT (profit before tax)…

Walk into any locality in Bangalore, even some of the more densely packed areas, and take a moment to try and block out the urban noise. It is almost a given that you will hear a penetrating two toned whistle, you might think that it is some roadside Romeo making a nuisance of himself but in fact it is made by a resident whose presence in our city vastly outnumbers those of our roadside Romeos. They too frequent market places looking for easy pickings. He even shares a name with the roadside Romeo of the silver screen but unlike his…

A new firestation has come up on Sarjapur Road opposite Kaikondrahalli Lake. The firestation has been built by CREDAI, in a Public-private partnership (PPP) model, on government land of about an acre. B K Hampagol, Deputy Director (Technical), Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services says his department did not have to spend any money. Firestation on Sarjapur Road. Pic: Meera K. Two fire engines and about 14 firemen, will be stationed here initially. The department plans to purchase more vehicles in the future and station more personnel.The firestation has been ready from late last year but could not be inauguration due…

Last Sunday, residents of apartments in Bellandur demonstrated against construction trucks using their road. The tipper trucks that run from behind the RMZ Ecospace (on Outer Ring Road) to Sarjapur Road via Oceanus Triton and Total Mall, are serious health hazard for the residents in and around this route. These trucks raise a lot of dust, that gets spread all over the road, the gardens and homes along the way. In addition to the health hazards, it has deteriorated the condition of the roads on this patch and is a potential cause of road accidents (one fatal accident of a…

Two different heritage-related events took place last weekend. The first was an INTACH Parichay which took place on Saturday, 29 January, at Shivajinagar. About 20 of us gathered at St Mary’s Basilica and then gradually made our way towards Russel Market, where Mohammed Idrees Choudhury spoke to us about the market and what makes it unique. Then followed Adams square, the mews, Renuka theatre and finally the Jain temple and the fabulous Gani Building (“Shivajinagar ki shaan”, as one shopkeeper near the building called it) on OPH Road. As walk leader Pankaj Modi pointed out, the charm of Shivajinagar lay…

Two unusual plants in Lalbagh are in bloom again, and those interested can go and view them near the Office of the Deputy Directorate of Horticulture. The first one is the exquisitely-coloured, and beautifully-shaped,JADE VINE:and the other is the CROWN OF THORNS (Euphorbium milii)which is a kind of banana plant, but much taller:The infloresence, indeed, resembles our own plantain flowers:The third lovely plant is what is called the "Shrimp" Plant, which has lovely ballon-like flowers:All these plants are within a few feet of each other...go and enjoy the sight of the blooms! ⊕

  I caught this picture of a 'Bird of Paradise' Flower at the horticulture training institute maintained by the Association of People with Disability.Pic By Ravi Kaushik

Here is the press release from the Save Bellandur Lake organising committee. Pictures from the run are attached. A hundred odd people assembled on Outer Ring Road in front of Pratham Motors, at the start of the Save Bellandur Lake Run. Pic: Meera K. Jagannath and Rammurthi addressing the participants of the Save Bellandur Lake Run. Pic: Meera K. The stink and the sludge of the Bellandur Lake could not be missed. Pic: Meera K. Participants braved the hot sun and stink of the lake. Pic: Meera K. There are still a few fields left beside the lake, on the…

On a mailing list for cyclists, that I belong to, I received this analysis,from Chidambaran Subramanianb, of why road-widening is not a sustainable option:"Cut down the trees, widen the roads , make them signal free if possible. Good, I am pretty sure that there will be no congestion for a week. Then, with the added cars everyday in the city and the new cars that are coming/going to come, there will be congestion and much more pollution than before. Now people will take another road which is pleasant and tree-laden. Identify that as an arterial road , widen it and…